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A podcast from renowned silent film accompanist/historian Ben Model covering the techniques of creating and performing live scores to silent films, as well as a discussion of the language of silent cinema. Find what goes on in the mind of a silent film accompanist before, during and after playing for a show. Learn about the aesthetics of silent filmmaking and storytelling language.

Reel Baseball at the MCNY

Presented and accompanied a program of films from the Kino Reel Baseball DVD set at the Museum of the City of New York this afternoon. We showed The Busher, plus Hearts and Diamonds and Felix Saves the Day. We had a great crowd, biggest one so far in the five years I've been doing silents at the MCNY. Well, maybe biggest crowd was when we showed The Cameraman with Buster Keaton as part of the Silent Clowns' season a year ago. The films played really well, and it was great to hear kids' laughter during the John Bunny short (!).

Have already lined up another date there to do a part 2 show of stuff from Reel Baseball in December. The MCNY has an exhibit about baseball's glory days (1947-57) running currently through December. Am already working on some ideas for 2008 for them. Can't believe this is the fifth year I've been doing silents at the MCNY -- showed It with Clara Bow in April of 2003, and that started it all. Since then we've shown Speedy, an Arbuckle shorts progam (made in NYC), The Early Bird with Johnny Hines, Poor Little Rich Girl, The Cameraman, and Orchids and Ermine with Colleen Moore.

Am getting ready to head out of town for a few weeks of R&R, during which I have a Keaton show (Sherlock Jr + 2 shorts, in 35mm) in Hamilton NY, and a Lloyd show (Grandma's Boy + 2 shorts, in 16mm) in Manchester VT.